Dr. Nathalie Lavoine

How did you develop your approach to teaching? How does entrepreneurial mindset (EM) align with it?

I approach teaching as a research project, as a continuous, limitless, iterative, scientific and creative process.

I first conduct a thorough literature search and identify the knowledge gaps and the problems to solve. In my case, the knowledge gap was huge: I had never taught, and I did not know how to teach. The problem I had to solve after my first teaching attempt was how to enhance students’ engagement and interest in my class.

The second problem I had to address was how to fairly assess students’ work with respect to the learning objectives and content of my class. I then ideate solutions to fill in the gaps and address the identified problems. This has, for instance, resulted in my enrollment in different teaching certificate programs and in me joining the KEEN community. 

A strong theoretical background is always needed and important to interpret and understand your research. But ultimately, I have to test and assess the different teaching practices, tools, and approaches I learned on paper. I also need to ensure their repeatability and reproducibility. Hence, I have been doing this experiential/experimental learning process for the past 5 years, and I am still learning from it.

As of today, I keep reading the literature, growing my research questions, developing new teaching materials and whenever I can, I disseminate and share the work I do with others.  I believe that my entire approach to teaching and research is based on curiosity, connection and creating value. It is all about having an impact and adding my building block(s) to this pyramid of knowledge and discoveries.

Talk about your teaching methods. What works? How have your methods changed over time? What have you discovered?

I can absolutely tell you what did not work! I guess I have tried it all: From giving a traditional lecture where the instructor is the only one talking, to not providing a detailed, fair rubric to students with no-to-little feedback on their grades. At the time, my class evaluations were not filled with great comments.

Since then, I have changed my entire pedagogy and approach to teaching.

"What works better is transparency and care. The students understand that I care about implementing a good and effective learning environment."

Students see me trying and improving my pedagogy during the semester. I now share my expectations with them. I provide more detailed feedback and offer coaching to help them improve their skillset and competencies. I also gauge the overall learning atmosphere several times during the semester, making sure that each student has a voice and the opportunity to speak, share, and convey their thoughts about the class, its content, their own learning progress, successes and/or challenges, if any. 

I also implement several EM activities as micromoments or semester-long projects, and this has considerably changed the dynamic of the class and increased the students’ engagement overall.

What’s one of your favorite projects you’ve had students do?

My favorite project is the semester-long team project I have designed in partnership with the industry on packaging design and engineering. 

When I started at NC State University, I was asked to build a new course on pulp and paper products and markets. I am part of our Paper Science and Engineering program, and until I was hired, the students were only exposed to concepts and hands-on learning on wood, pulping, papermaking and testing. Specifically, they did not have any courses covering other wood-based products, such as packaging, tissues and towels. 

As part of this course, I have thus created a semester-long project that engages students in hands-on learning of key concepts of packaging design and engineering. This project tasks the students to utilize their technical skills on paperboard and corrugated board, but also requires them to directly implement what they learn in my class, to build and prototype a 3D box. 

This project is challenging if you have never designed a box or used a CAD software before. But the most challenging part is creating value and innovating. As a team, the students are asked to create a 3D box which meets the demands and needs of the society and the industry. How do you define and identify these needs? This is what I ask the students to do and to justify. 

In partnership with DS Smith Corrugated Packaging, an industry leader in the field, we propose every year a different theme for the students to work on. We can, for instance, ask the students to focus on an e-commerce gift pack or to create an alternative fiber-based solution to plastic packaging. Irrespective of the theme, the students are asked to state the value proposition of their creation and give the rationale. The students thus go through the different phases of design thinking over the course of one semester.

DS Smith mobilizes a team of 5 to 6 professional designers to mentor the students’ team in the overall design process. The input from the industry empowers students to innovate and create value for the industry and the society, in addition to guiding them in bridging the gaps between the classroom and the industry.

What brings you joy in your work - or what are you most passionate about?

I am a very big fan of the ideation / brainstorming phase of a project, whether in teaching or in research. I love hearing all about the out-of-the-box ideas of students, I love problem-solving with them and problem-solving together. This is one of the most exciting parts of my job as I get to appreciate and admire their thinking process and understand where they come from and who they are. 

It is all about creating value and thinking about the impact we can make because we have worked together.

Why do you think entrepreneurial mindset is important for engineers to have?

"Engineers can change the world, make an impact, and respond to the needs and the demands of our society and our planet. The entrepreneurial mindset will lead students to become that type of engineer."

This is why this mindset is so important: it can boost the overall skillset of engineering students to the next level! More importantly, I believe the entrepreneurial mindset also serves as a great foundation for our own personal growth. Yes, it does help our professional career and path, equip us with the skills that will make us, as engineers, successful and impactful, but it also influences our everyday lives.

This mindset can, for instance, empower us to take more initiatives, to be more independent and confident in ourselves, and enhance our adaptability to new environments while improving our social skills.

How have you benefited from being part of a larger community focused on EM?

The main benefit of being part of this larger community focused on EM has been the improvement of my teaching effectiveness and overall pedagogy.

I have enhanced my confidence in teaching and my approach to teaching. I have learnt so much on this topic. I also believe that I enjoy teaching much more, since I joined this community.

Another benefit is being part of a community and belonging to a community that shares the same mission and purpose in engineering education. We are all in the same boat and we are looking forward to having the same impact on our students.

How have you worked with colleagues on your campus to impact students?

We have a core group of faculty leaders at NC State University, whose mission is to promote EML to faculty so they can directly impact students. Inspired by the Engineering Unleashed community and the ICE 1.0 workshop, we have created our own local Wolfpack Engineering Unleashed (WEU) network and 2-day WEU incubator to build an EM community at NC State and educate faculty in EM.

As of today, we have grown our community to ca. 30 faculty and instructors across campus; each of them is working towards incorporating EM into their classroom and impacting students. To keep building and growing our community, we offer monthly lunch & learn events, we have organized a summer book club, and we plan regular social events during the year to connect with each other. All our members have attended our 2-day incubator on EM followed by 1 year of coaching to guide them in incorporating (at least) an EM-based activity in their class.

What would you tell a faculty member who is getting started implementing EM?

Start small. Enjoy the first steps. And learn from - what you may call at the time - “failure”.

Like every new process, it will take time, effort, and a certain level of commitment. But rewards and fun will come soon enough and will feed your motivation. You are not alone on this journey. Join the community, talk to people and they will encourage you and help you to start this journey, and sustain it!

What advice would you give students about EM and their careers?

An EM will equip you with skills that you did not necessarily know you had to develop for your future career in engineering. Curiosity, connection and creating value are three core concepts and skills that will serve you professionally and personally. Believe in what we are teaching you, give it a try, do your best, and see how it helps you in the real world. If not now, it will surely benefit you later.

What are you hoping to do with your Rising Star funding?

I have so many ideas and projects I would love to do – but one project that I am really interested in now is bringing communities together to define and develop our future roadmap for engineering education. There are a lot of KEEN partner Universities in North Carolina, and I would love to gather them all and build a local section for EM. I would love to gather people to think about engineering education and develop altogether the next steps we can take to sustain and grow our efforts.

Another project that I really care about is incorporating elements of sustainability into our engineering education. I have already initiated this project with the co-organization of the EUFD workshop on Unraveling the Value Tensions of sustainability with EML, but I would love to take this workshop to the next level and impact students directly.